NINE days after leaving their starting point in Faughart the St Brigid’s Way pilgrims arrived in Kildare Town centre having completed their magical journey following the ancient path of Brigid, goddess and Celtic Christian saint.
Dolores Whelan and Karen Ward who organised the pilgrimage spoke of the wonderful spiritual journey and spectacular landscapes they enjoyed on their journey.
“We had such a wonderful time and everybody on the group got a lot out of our nine day pilgrimage”, explained Karen.
“We had nine glorious days of sunshine and nine days of spectacular scenery including Cuchulainn’s Stone, the Famine stone, the Hill of Slane, the beauty of Tara and the wide open spaces of the Curragh.
“26 of us walked into Kildare town and we got a lovely reception from the locals and the town dignitaries. The whole walk was so powerful and I really got a strong sense that I was walking in the footsteps of my ancestors.” she added.
Dolores who is a teacher, educator, author and spiritual guide within the Celtic spiritual community said it had been a pleasure to walk the ancient pathway linking the two historical sites.
“People came from Australia, the USA, Denmark Scotland and England to join us in our walk and they all enjoyed the walk immensely. They were the right people for the walk and they got a lot out of it. This will be an annual event and it’s going to get bigger as each year passes”, she noted.
“This initiative was inspired by a desire to revive the ancient art of pilgrimage which was so central to the indigenous spiritual traditions of this land. This pilgrimage which honours Brigid goddess and Saint, allowed participants to slow down their pace of life by walking through some of the most beautiful rural towns, villages and countryside of Ireland, to find that place of deep inner peace”, explained Dolores.
Louth County Council Cathaoirleach Declan Breathnach, Dundalk Town Council Cathaoirleach Eamonn O’Boyle and Michael McCabe were in attendance at the Market Square Dundalk to see the pilgrims commence their nine day journey to Kildare.
Declan Breathnach spoke of the wealth of hidden heritage that Co. Louth has to offer and commended the pilgrims for doing their part to “re-awakening the soul of this county”.
Michael McCabe praised Dolores and Karen for having the vision to organise the pilgrimage and welcomed the walkers who had come from Australia, USA and Denmark to take part in the walk.
